The Biosphere Reserve as Living Space: LinkingConservation, Development and Research

Authors: Ruoss, Engelbert, and Wymann vo Dach, Susanne

Source: Mountain Research and Development, 21(2) : 128-131

Published By: International Mountain Society

URL: https://doi.org/10.1659/0276-4741(2001)021[0128:TBRALS]2.0.CO;2

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Ruoss: Few regions in Switzerland havenatural and cultural landscapes that areas intact as those in Entlebuch. Thisregion at the foot of the Alps has manyspecial natural features, including raisedbogs and peat bogs, the Napf area, theSchrattenfluh, a great number of forestedravines, the Kleine Emme river systemand its alluvial forest, and a great diversityof flora and fauna. As a consequence ofthe legislation to protect moorlands thatresulted from the Rothenturm initiativein 1987, about 27% of Entlebuch, includ-ing 60% of the Commune of Flühli,became a protected area. This led to theidea of a biosphere reserve.

Initial skepticism about the term“reserve” was the reason that the initiatorsof the project called it “Habitat Entle-buch”. Later, those responsible for man-agement of the region wanted to use theterm “biosphere reserve” to convey a newmeaning, emphasize internationalaspects, communicate openly, and pro-mote tourism. The difficult economicconditions in Entlebuch and a new agri-cultural policy were important factors inhelping to get the project off to a success-ful start.

In many respects Entlebuch is a place ofextremes. It has the highest taxes and thelowest income. The average farm is stillvery small, but levels of debt are quitehigh. More than four-fifths of the farmsare full-time farms, and 36% of the popu-

lation is engaged in the primary sector (asopposed to 4.6% in Switzerland in 1998).The agricultural population is greatlyoveraged, and there is a marked lack ofpeople in the next generation with ade-quate agricultural experience. Given thelack of attractive, modern apprenticeshipsand jobs for the well-educated, youngpeople are forced to migrate to towns.Most of the forests are privately ownedand divided into small parcels, whichmakes conditions in the lumber businessdifficult. The region lacks businesses inthe service sector that generate highadded value. The WTO, price trends, andagricultural policy in 2002 will acceleratethese developments.

The pressure on medium-sized farmsis alleviated somewhat by direct paymentsfor ecological services and contributionstowards the care of protected areas as aresult of the law on protection of moor-lands. Farmers must think in businessterms and market their products them-selves or find their own marketing net-work. The heavy focus of the biospherereserve on regional development mustalso be understood from this perspective.Only if we are successful in maintainingrural structures and historic cultural land-scapes can we also be sure of maintainingthe extensive bog ecosystems and moor-lands in the long term.

UNESCO intends to establish a globalnetwork of model regions with represen-tative natural and cultural landscapes.This is expected to maintain valuableecosystems and traditional forms of liveli-hood, promote exemplary forms of eco-nomic, social and ecological develop-ment, and foster research and education.UNESCO will advocate zoning to providecore zones, protected zones and develop-ment zones, as well as infrastructure forresearch and education.

UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere Program willofficially recognize the Entlebuch BiosphereReserve Project in 2001. What are the aimsand the requirements of this UNESCO pro-gram?

You refer to difficult economic circum-stances in Entlebuch and the change inSwiss agricultural policy that took place inthe late 1990s. What socioeconomic diffi-culties and natural obstacles does Entle-buch face?

MRD: Mr. Ruoss, the Entlebuch BiosphereReserve Project (EBR), also known as“Habitat Entlebuch”, was begun in 1996.Can you briefly describe the Entlebuchregion, including both its particular featuresand its problems?

128

The Biosphere Reserve as Living Space: LinkingConservation, Development and ResearchAn interview with Engelbert Ruoss of the Entlebuch Biosphere Reserve, Switzerland

AuthorAuthorAuthor

Mountain Research and Development Vol 21 No 2 May 2001: 128–131

FIGURE 1 Engelbert Ruoss, theproject manager of the Entle-buch Biosphere Reserve inSwitzerland. (Photo courtesy ofthe Entlebuch BiosphereReserve)

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The Commune of Flühli, and especially itstreasurer, Josef Emmenegger, have lookedfor ways to ensure future use of the protect-ed zone, which amounts to more than 60%of the landscape. In the search for suitablesolutions, the biosphere reserve model wasexamined and subsequently found to bewell suited to the situation. Today the pop-ulation sees that the biosphere reserve con-cept represents an opportunity to positionitself better in the contemporary marketfor tourism, a way of cultivating naturalresources such as grass, wood and land-scape, and a market for regional products.

The original driving force was theregional planning association; today it isthe regional management team, whichhas a largely conceptual task and isresponsible for trying to implement theconcept professionally.

The population had a direct influenceon making the Biosphere Reserve a reality,through well-attended public meetings ineach of the eight communes concerned.These communes approved the proposal bymajorities averaging 94%. Even at the pre-liminary planning stage, approximately 150people had a chance for active participationand decision-making in working groups andlocal Agenda 21 projects (Alliance in theAlps). As a result, Entlebuch is the first bios-phere reserve anywhere in the world thatwas democratically approved and structuredfrom the bottom up.

These three functions must be closelyrelated. I no longer like to speak of “con-servation”, a term that I find too static. Acondition worthy of protection can onlyresult from regular maintenance—espe-cially of cultural landscapes, but also ofprotected peat bogs and natural mead-ows. The biosphere reserve programinvolves conservation of both natural andcultural landscapes.

The interactions between people, cul-ture and nature are a very important partof the UNESCO Man and Biosphere Pro-gram. By contrast with the situation innational parks, economic and social devel-opment will be part of the overall conceptin the future, along with research and edu-cation. At the same time, this will constitutea challenge for the experts and politiciansof tomorrow, who will not be able to ignorethe growth of participatory processes.

It means that even large-scale protectedareas will be open to research in disci-plines other than the purely organic natu-ral sciences, such as economics and the

What will this mean in concrete terms forresearch and education in the EntlebuchBiosphere Reserve?

Biosphere reserves must fulfill three func-tions: conservation, development andresearch. Are these three functions sepa-rate in the Entlebuch Biosphere Reserve, orhave they been combined, and if so, how?

In an annual report on regional management,you wrote that the idea of the biospherereserve required a long germination phase andnow seems to be gaining support slowly. Howhas Entlebuch progressed along this challeng-ing path? Who were and who are the drivingforces behind the project, and how stronglyhas it taken root among the population?

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Development

FIGURE 2 Flühli lies in themidst of the Entlebuch Bio-sphere Reserve, at the foot ofthe Schwändelifluh. (Photocourtesy of BiosphärenreservatEntlebuch)

FIGURE 3 UNESCO’smodel of biospherereserve management.(Photo courtesy ofUNESCO)

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130

An Interview with Engelbert Ruoss

Mountain Research and Development Vol 21 No 2 May 2001

social sciences. It will also mean a moreintegrated perspective involving interdis-ciplinary and transdisciplinary issues andworking methods.

I am convinced that it is more realistic tofocus on transdisciplinary topics than toengage in traditional research. But transdis-ciplinary topics are neglected in teachingand research. The National Science Foun-dation’s Program 48, concerned with land-scape and habitat in the Alps, is a notableexception. Yet consistent application ofinterdisciplinary and transdisciplinarymethods in this program will not be easy.

In principle, every project in the Bio-sphere Reserve is interdisciplinary andtransdisciplinary. For example, a disserta-tion concerned with monitoring the suc-cess of sustainable regional developmentis currently in progress. It will developaims and indicators for tourism, agricul-ture, forestry, traffic and energy. Theseaims and indicators will also be definedand adapted for the region in workshopswith representatives of various interests,and considered together with regionalorganizations.

The question of zoning in the Bio-sphere Reserve is also a central one in manyprojects. This involves automatic integra-tion of a utilization rate. Applied and the-matically focused research is of course morerelevant to the interests of the region. Butthis by no means excludes basic research.

We have not yet succeeded in involvingthe population in the formulation ofresearch priorities. The rural populationhas little knowledge of or relation tostate-of-the-art research. The migration ofwell-educated young people from the areaand the lack of high-quality jobs alsomake active participation in researchmore difficult. The regional managersbridge the gap between the research com-munity and the population in the EBR.The regional management sets priorities,takes initiatives, coordinates and providessupport for projects, and informs thepopulation about current research workwhile also taking account of their inter-ests. Those who are the subjects ofresearch can quickly become guinea pigs,which may lead to hostile expressions ofresistance. To prevent this from happen-ing, it is vital to establish a partnershipcharacterized by adequate respect amongresearchers and their subjects.

The population is certainly not unawareof the importance of research, nor is itthe case that people would not beinvolved in research. But Swiss researchpriorities in areas such as nanotechnolo-gy, electrotechnology, genetic engineer-ing and biotechnology are not priorityissues for the people of Entlebuch. Norare international journals published inEnglish part of their everyday readingmaterial. On the other hand, it is difficultto explain the applied and practicalresearch that is needed in Entlebuch tothe research community in Switzerland.

Those responsible for management ofthe region have developed a research

In other words, the population has not yetrecognized the importance of research inthe development of their living environment.But why? In countries in the South,approaches such as participatory researchand action research have been used foryears, in order to involve people whileresearch aims are being developed and dur-ing the entire research process. Do you seeany chance of involving the people of Entle-buch at an earlier stage?

Research carried out in the EBR must berelevant to development. Who formulatesthe questions to be pursued? Which partiesexpress their needs—the researchers or thesubjects of research, ie communes, thelocal population, etc.?

We hear much about the need to move fromtraditional research to interdisciplinary andtransdisciplinary issues and working meth-ods. But what is happening in reality? Aresuccessful projects already underway in theEntlebuch Biosphere Reserve?

“The regional managersbridge the gap betweenthe research communityand the population inthe EBR.”

FIGURE 4 A student collectinglichens in the EBR, to obtaindata for a bioindicationresearch program. (Photo byEngelbert Ruoss)

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131

Development

strategy in cooperation with the researchcommission of EBR that establishes theaims and priorities of research in Entle-buch. Research should address issues ofimmediate concern to the local popula-tion. It should further and help to imple-ment the concerns of the BiosphereReserve while also meeting national andinternational research standards. Histori-cal and indigenous knowledge should begiven special consideration and encour-agement.

Specific efforts are made to involvepeople in issues that are a focus ofresearch, primarily when they possessparticular expertise. I believe theirinvolvement with these issues and in thepreparation of reports is feasible,although research work per se must becarried out by experts. The responsibilityand commitment to society shown byresearchers could help to improve thecredibility of research work in Entlebuch,as elsewhere. This would be much moremeaningful for rural populations thanparticipation and co-determination. Any-one can now survey current researchactivities in the EBR on our web site(www.biosphaere.ch, in German).

Specialists will naturally feel tornbetween the needs of the local populationand the demands of internationalresearch policy. That is why we are partic-ularly seeking generalists as well as team-and practice-oriented researchers. Thiscontext gives new meaning not only tothe expertise of the intellectual communi-ty but also to their impact and capacity tocommunicate.

Working to achieve and implement sus-tainable regional development is a com-plex undertaking. Close collaboration

with the population in participatoryprocesses demands a considerable meas-ure of credible information and commu-nication. People here have learned fromexperience—especially in the case of themoorland inventory—that research canhave disadvantages for them. Moreover,they are usually not in a position to beaware of and verify the results of research.People who carry out research in partici-patory projects therefore face a greaterpersonal challenge than researchers in anivory tower or the protected atmosphereof a national park.

Topics in the social sciences, sustainableresource management, regional econom-ics and regional development are obvious-ly very important. But close proximity tonature can also inspire local interest ingeology, hydrology, ecology and livingorganisms. But these areas are still notreceiving priority attention by theresearch community in Switzerland.

I believe it is more important that wechange our way of looking at things. Toooften our views reflect those of urbanareas with universities outside the Alps.Mountain regions should retain their ownidentity, and institutions of higher learn-ing must simultaneously accept theirresponsibility for socioeconomic and cul-tural developments. Perhaps this will leadto greater understanding and acceptanceof the benefits of research among moun-tain populations.

There is a demand for interdisciplinaryresearch and new researchers with socialskills. Is there also a need to investigatenew topics specifically tailored to the Alpinefoothill region of Entlebuch? I am thinkinghere of the previously mentioned difficultiesthat Entlebuch must confront, which are per-haps typical of mountain regions.

Why must expertise be linked with impactand communications skills?

MRD asked Susanne Wymann von Dach,geographer and MRD Assistant Editor, tointerview Engelbert Ruoss, a biologistand museologist who is project managerof the Entlebuch Biosphere Reserve(Projekt Biosphärenreservat Entlebuch,Chlosterbüel, 6170 Schüpfheim, Switzer-land) and lectures at the Institute forEnvironmental Research (NLU), Universi-ty of Basle. The interview was conductedin German in February 2001. Ed.

“The population had adirect influence on mak-ing the biospherereserve a reality,through well-attendedpublic meetings in eachof the eight communesconcerned. These com-munes approved theproposal by majoritiesaveraging 94%.”

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